The AlxIn1-xN barrier high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) structure has been optimized with varied barrier composition and thickness grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. After optimization, a transistor structure comprising a 7 nm thick nearly lattice-matched Al0.83In0.17 N barrier exhibits a sheet electron density of 2.0 x 10(13) cm(-2) with a high electron mobility of 1540 cm(2) V-1 s(-1). AnAl(0.83)In(0.17)N barrier HEMT device with 1 mu m gate length provides a current density of 1.0 A mm(-1) at V-GS = 0 V and an extrinsic transconductance of 242 mS mm(-1), which are remarkably improved compared to that of a conventional Al0.3Ga0.7N barrier HEMT. To investigate the thermal stability of the HEMT epi-structures, post-growth annealing experiments up to 800 degrees C have been applied to Al0.83In0.17N and Al0.3Ga0.7N barrier heterostructures. As expected, the electrical properties of an Al0.83In0.17N barrier HEMT structure showed less stability than that of an Al0.3Ga0.7N barrier HEMT to the thermal annealing. The structural properties of Al0.83In0.17N/GaN also showed more evidence for decomposition than that of the Al0.3Ga0.7N/GaN structure after 800 degrees C post-annealing.